Collapsible box



Aug 29, 1950 A. J. FooR-D 2,520,277

coLLAPsIBLEBox Filed July 26, 1948 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 BYQZM Arrow/Ev Patented Aug. 29, 1950 UNITED -s'frATfiE-s PATENT o FFI-cs 2,520,277 l Y OLLAPSIBLEFBQK yinfreltJannesEcard, Amesbury, England Application diy-26, 1943,SeriallNo.4l),7&0 'In Greatrltain July '31.519497 Z 1Glaims.. 1

The present invention rrelates :to Pcella-militie boxes of wood or thelllkeiflrm'material.

The boxes will usually be of rectangular pris: matic form though the invention can the ent' bodied inzother .sixsided forms for instance Va pyramidalfrustum. For convenience the terms top and bottom, sidesand :ends will'befusedr-but it is to be understood .that-.the'invention is1not limited to the .particular way in whichtheibox stands; also .although .forireasons 'which will 'be explained the .largest sides .must be `zthe .top 'and bottom', there is no essential relationship' between the sizes of the sides and lends.

According tothe invention theboxwcom-prises la top'panel-and a bottom panel feach'battened along all four'edges'toforma shaliowltramvtwo side panels and two end vpanels 'whichbetween them are battened on four edges -v extending fbetween the top and bottom so that when erected there is oneiof v.these.battens at each corner of the box, the side and end panels being arranged so that whenerectedtheyliecnthe inside of the battens onzthe-top andhottom,-fthepartsinterlocking so that the side and'endepanesieannot move normally to nor in .theiriown planes and the whole being held together by metal straps which tie the top and bottom together, while when the box iscollapsed the side and end panels Acan 'be between the 'juxtaposed "trays aforesaid so that the whole occupies Very'mall volumefor transit or'storage. The metlstraps may be permanent in which case they canbe arranged so'that their'fastenings are accommodated when the box 'is erected in the recesses formedat the sides by the battens lying .outside the'side panels, while when thebox is collapsed they can .beraccommodated with-the othel'l/parts between the two trays.

With the usual rectangular prismatic form o1' box the top and bottom will be of the same size and can be made identical in form, and when juxtaposed in the collapsed condition of the box, form a very shallow box for the other parts. The two sides will be of the same size and can be made identical in form; the two ends will also be of the same size and can be of identical form. Thus apart from the straps and their fastenings (which may be of quickly operable type and inany case are such as to avoid nails or the like) the box will only comprise three forms of component (two of each) and will readily lend itself to production on interchangeable lines so that if one component is damaged it can readily be replaced. The whole structure is also strong and .2 regu'iresnlya .minimum .of material in 4proportiontolits size andstrength.

Themvention zwill tbe further described with reference it@ .the accompanying drawings which ilisureiisa:similar-view to Figure sof amodimation.

another betten f6 along each `sideedse.

.f-'lhebox shown'inthe drawings-is of rectangulariprismatic Jform with the Vsides longer than themas, buti-withthe height andswidthapproxi- :matelyftbef-same.

'The aides of the are identical and each 4:wessists-ot alplain rectangular-panel l. Thetends of the fbox are .identical .fand each .consists of a Plain-panel zandtwobattens -3fsecured along its .verticali-edges, f

.'liheztopfandibottomzot tlie'box arealso'identir calzandachieomnrises arnanel La plain batteri vacrossfthe wholeilengthiof each end edge, and These bnttensistop shorteo'f thezend battenszaibv .a distancefequalfto the vthiclmess ofthe .end xpanels I and are notchedfat lover a length equal to the thiclmessaof the battensr, When .the ends and top and bottom are assembled, the top and bot ktomr-edsesfof thez-panelsfzfrest on thezfaces ofthe Dnels #mand tillvfthefspaces :between the ends of the battens 6 and the battens 5, while the ends of the battens 3 which terminate short of the top and bottom edges of the panels 2 just t into the notches 1. This prevents any inward or outward movement of the ends in relation to the top and bottom.

When the side panels l are assembled their end edges lle against the panels 2 and their top and bottom' edges against the panels 4, while their outer faces bear against the battens 6. Thus the panels I cannot move outwards nor in their own planes. They are prevented from moving inwards by engagement with shoulders 8 spaced inwards from the inside of the battens 6 by the thickness of the panels l. As the panels I cannot move inwards and the battens 3 bear against their outer faces, the end panels 2 cannot move in their own planes.

In the construction shown the shoulders 8 are formed by grooves 9 in bevelled beads I0 integral with the battens 6 these beads being of less height than the battens. This construction makes the height of the side panels I somewhat less than the internal height of the box and so enables them to be accommodated .within the trays which the top and bottom form although the box shown is nominally of the sam'e height as its width.

Figure 1 also shows the battens 5 and 6 tied together by metal strappings Il which may conveniently extend over the whole length of the battens 6. These strappings form an additional means of preventing movement of the end panels 2 in their own planes. notches 1, the strappings I I are not shown'in Figure 2.

The box shown is held together by metal strapsY I2 secured to the top and bottomand terminating in rapid fastenings such as the toggle fastenings I3. There are two such straps I2 lying about a quarter of the length of the box in from the ends, on each of the two sides. The straps lie against the outer faces of the side panels I and their thickness being accommodated in grooves I4 in the battens 6. The fastenings I3 are wholly accommodated within the recesses formed by the battens 3 and 6. the straps to be detached when the boxv is collapsed, they are held in place by lugsl I5 formed by bending them at right angles, these lugs being housed in notches I6 in the battens 6. The

To avoid obs'curing the A To enable f grooves I4 are cut right through the beads I U to enable the lugs to be withdrawn from ythe notches I6. y

When the box is collapsed, by juxtaposing the tray-like top and bottom a shallow box is formed,

in which as the top and bottom are the mem- 1 to avoid the use of nails or screws which have to be driven in to close the box and withdrawn to open and collapse it. Strap securing means of this kind are vwell known 4per se. With such straps, it is advantageous to insert short battens I8 at their location, extending across the side panel 2 between the battens on the top and bottom.

Where toggle fastenings such as I3 are used, the maximum strength is obtained by the use ol' an end hatten on each vertical edge of said end panels stopping short of the top and bottom edges of the panels, a rectangular, plywood top panel, and a rectangular plywood bottom panel identical to said top panel plain battens secured along the full length of both end edges of said top and bottom panels, side battens secured to each side edge of said top and bottom panels and -stopping Vshort of the end edge panels by the thickness of said end panels, said side battens being each divided by a longitudinal groove into an outer side batteri portion next to the panel edge and a shoulder strip on its inside, said longitudinal groove being adapted to receive said side panels, the -ends of said outer side batten portions being notched to receive the ends of said end battens which abut inwardly against the shoulder strips and prevent endwise movement of the end panels, and metal straps having rapid fastenings secured to said top and bottom panels, which when the box is erected tie the top and bottom panels together, the fastenings being accommodated on the outside of the side panels but within the recess formed between the side and end battens.

2. A box as speciied in claim l wherein at two points equidstant from the ends of each side batteri the shoulder strip is cut away and the inside and underside of the outer side batteri portion are recessed for detachable engagement with right angle lugs formed at the ends of said metal straps.

ALFRED JAMES FOORD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the iile of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 272,513 Baker Feb. 20, 1883 295,046 Parker et al. Mar. 11, 1884 296,020 Krog, Sr. Apr. 1, 1884 759,961 Beems May 17, 1904 1,124,720 Fleming Jian. 12, 1915 1,325,330 Rae Dec. 16, 1919 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,671 Australia June 19, 1935 639,174 France Mar. 5, 1928 

